Improvement in making horseshoe-nails



2 Sheets-8heet I. A." REESE.

Horseshoe-Nail Machine.

No'.;86,450.- Patented-Feb. 1869,.

1 WW1! Mu 's/ UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

ABRAM REESE, OF MOCLURE TOWNSHIP, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN MAKING HORSESHOE-NAILS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 86,450, dated February2, 1869.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ABRAM REESE, of Me- Clure township, (Pittsburghpost-office,) in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, haveinvented a new and useful Machine for Making Horseshoe-Nails; and I dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionthereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in twosheets, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure l is aperspective view of my improved machine. Fig. 2 is a longitudinalvertical section formed by a plane passing along the line of the feedthrough the machine, and cutting the feed-rolls, fore plate, and mainwheel; and Fig. 3 is a vertical section formed by a plane passingtransversely across the m achine, between the fore plate and main wheel.

Like letters of reference indicate like parts in each.

The nature of my invention consists in the construction and combinationof devices by which, first, a nail-rod is fed continuously forward intothe proper position to be acted on by the reducin g-rolls and side dies,which form the nail, the continuous feed going on while the nail isbeing formed; second, the nails are drawn, shaped, and pointed by theconcurrent though alternate action of dies and rollers, the front andrear faces of the nail, including the head, being formed between anadjustable fore plate and the faces of a series of frictionrollersarranged on the circumference of a wheel, and the edges, down to thepoint, being formed between the faces of a pair of recessed convergingdies, which operate by percussive strokes from opposite directions atthe same time; and, third, the nail, when finished, is cut from thenail-rod and drops out of the machine without interrupting or impedingits continuous action.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willproceed to describe a machine in which it is exhibited and mademanifest.

A A represent the framework of my machine, being made of any suitablematerial, shape, and size, whereby the machinery employed can beconveniently and successfully operated. Mounted on this frame are theaxles B 0, connected together by friction, pulley, or gear wheels B C,and receiving motion by a crank, B", or other suitable device. Thegearwheel 0 plays into a similar wheel, D, which latter is hung on oneof the two feed-rolls D E, such feed-rolls being geared together bywheels D E, so as to receive a continuous and uniform motion. One ofthese feed-rolls, D, has a groove, cl, into which plays a collar, 0, onthe other roll, E, the aperture between the two being of such size as tosecure a firm bite on a nail-rod fed therein, but without reducing ordrawing it. The nail-rod, after passing through between the'feed-rolls DE, passes along a groove, a, in the end beam A of the frame A.Immediately under the inner end of this groove 0, and by a mortise letinto the inside of the end beam A, is a fore plate, 1), against whichthe end of the nail-rod, introduced along the groove to, is to be drawnand shaped to the form of a horseshoe-nail, as presently to bedescribed. Relatively to this fore plate I), the main wheel F, hung onthe axle O, is so placed that the small frictionrollers ff, working inproper bearings in its periphery, shall, as they successively comearound, operate clear of the fore plate I) by the thickness of the nailto be made, To secure this relative operation more perfectly I adjustthe fore plate I) to the desired position by one or more set-screws, b.The upper end of the fore plate I), just at the inner end of the groovea, hasa recess, 0, of the size and shape of the head of ahorseshoe-nail; and from .the lower end of the recess 0 to the lower endof the fore plate I), the working-face of the fore plate I) is madeslightly concave, with such degree of curvature as may be desired, so asto make, in connection with feed-rollers f, nails of any requiredthickness, either uniform or variable, from head to point. Then, as thenail-rod, fed in by the rolls- D E along the groove to, projects beyondthe face of the fore plate 1), its end will be caught by thefrictionrollers f as they come around, will be forced down against thefore plate I), and drawn out in length, as well as reduced in thickness;and as the feed-rolls D E operate continuously each successivefriction-roller f will take a new bite on the end of the rod, turn down,and draw out into the nail a little more iron; but the recess 0 willalways be kept full, the rod being bent down into it by each roller f.But, to keep the metal from spreading out into side of the main wheel F,so far 7 that the fric tion-rollers g, which are set one in each of suchdie-blocks Gr, shall be engaged by the wedge-shaped blocks or cams j",which are placed on the sides of the rim of the wheel F. The die-blocksGr receive their swaging strokes by supports 72, which extend back fromeach through the sides A of the frame, and there rest against springs h.Then, with the revolution of the wheel F, not only are the rollers fbrought into use, as already described, but the cams f force the rollersg, die-blocks G, and dies 9 back and apart till they are released by therollers g passing over the square ends or bases of the cams f. Thedie-blocks G and dies g are then driven toward each other simultaneouslyby the action of the springs h on the supports h, and by a quick andstrong percussive stroke on the opposite edges of the nail which isbeing made they swage it into shape, giving it from head to point anytaper form desired.

The head of the nail is formed by the rollers forcing the metal of thenail-rod down into the recess 0 and by the action of the recessed partsa of the dies g coming up on the two sides.

It will be observed that, with the mode of construction shown, therolling and swaging are carried on simultaneously, though the rollers fand dies goperate alternately-that is to say, as soon as one roller fhas completed its work and rolled out the amount of nail-rod fed in thedies 9 immediately follow with swaging blows on the opposite edges.

It will also be observed that just previous to each stroke of therollers f only a very small amount ofnail-rod is fed in. This smallamount is rolled and swaged. The next roller f takes a new bite, notonly on what is already rolled and swaged, but also on the very smalllength of nail-rod fed in since the stroke of the last preceding rollerf, so that it is not until after several strokes of the rollers f that asufficient amount of nail-rod is fed, into the machine to make a singlenail, and by that time the metal so fed in is rolled and swaged to theshape required, and the nail is ready to be severed from the rod. Assoon as this is done the making of another nail is commenced. In thiswaythe nails are rapidly reduced to shape, the thickness being regulatedby the rollers f and fore plate I), the width of the body by theconverging dies 9 g, and the head by the recessed parts 0 0 c, asdescribed.

The die-blocks G move back and forth on suitably-shaped slides i.

The size of the gear-wheels O D is such,

and such is the proximity of the successive rollers f and camsf to eachother, that as soon as sufficient metal has been fed in past the foreplate b to furnish material for a single nail it will have received therolling and swagin g requisite to reduce it to the nail shape. Nothingthen remains but to cut it off from its parent bar or rod withoutinterruption to the movement of the machine.

To accomplish this result, I place an axle, H, across from one side ofthe frame A to the other just in the rear of the upper feed-roller, E,and between it and the main wheel F. On this I adjust an oscillatinghook-shaped knife, 02, the cutting-edge a being at the extremity of thehook, and so adjust it that on making a downward stroke its edge n willstrike the nail-rod just at the upper part of the recess 0, or, in otherwords, will cut off the nail and nailhead from the nail-rod which isbeing fed in. The nail will then drop out, and the knife 02 immediatelymake its return stroke, so as to be out of the way of the operation ofthe other devices in making another nail. Thus the feeding, rolling, andswaging go on uninterruptedly.

To secure such cuttingand return strokes of the knife n, I connect theaxle H, by a tripping device, with a pin, 0, in the side of the wheel F.Such tripping device consists of a bent or jointed lever, m, at one end,loosely pivoted to an arm, m, on the axle H, and at the other endrigidly connected with a tripper, 0, the two at that end being pivotedto a support, I, which furnishes a fulcrum for the leveraction.

With each revolution of the wheel F, or oftener, if so preferred, and asoften as a nail is formed, the pin 0 engages the tripper 0. Thisoperates the jointed lever m, by which the downward cutting throwdescribed is communicated to the cutter n. These devices are so attachedas that the cutter a shall make its downward stroke immediatelyfollowing one of the rollers f, as it gives the last roll to the face ofthe nail, in order that the nail may be securely held in place whilebeing cut, and also so that the cutter a shall immediately make itsreturn stroke, so as not to be in the way of the next following rollerf.

A spring, 8, of any suitable construction, attached to the frame A, andconnected with the jointed lever m, secures the return stroke of thecutter a as soon as the nail is severed. The cutter a should, of course,operate with a quick cutting stroke.

By the use of such a machine I dispense with the large amount of skilledlabor ordinarily required in making horseshoe-nails, and, in fact,employ no manual labor except that of a feeder to feed in the nailrodsbetween the rolls D E, the rods being, however, first heated in anysuitable or convenient furnace.

The characteristic feature of my feeding device consists in the factthat it operates by continuously feediu g in the nail-rod while the nailis being made, and with no interruption even while the nail is beingsevered from the rod, and so on, nail after nail, successively andcontinuously until all the rod, unless it be a few inches at the lastend, is worked up into nails.

I am' aware that horseshoe-nails have been drawn out by reducing-rollsacting against a former, and that the edges thereof have been swaged tothe required shape by side dies, the amount of metal, however, requiredfor a nail being, in machines so made, fed in at a single feed, so thatall the metal of each nail is operated on at every stroke of the rollsand dies; but I find it better to feed in the nail-rod con- 1 tinuously,as above described, since then each successive stroke of rolls or diesacts on an additional feed of nail rod, more perfectly and thoroughlyworking the metal, and consequently producing a better nail. I do nottherefore claim the construction of the devices just named, nor do Iclaim them in combination with each other.

I am also aware that feeding-rolls such as I have described arefrequently operated by an intermittent motion, so as to feed in at eachfeed or stroke the amount of metal required for a single nail, and suchuse of such rolls I do not claim.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

1. In nail-making machines in' which are combined swaging-dies,reducing-rolls, fore plate or anvil, and feeding apparatus, as hereinset forth, an arrangement of mechanism which shall move the nail-rodforward gradually but continuously, so that the rolls and dies shall actalternately and successively on different portions of a nail-blank,substantially in the manner described;

2. The arrangement of the several parts of the machine, taken inconnection with the mode of operation of those parts which feed in andforge the nail-rod, by virtue of which arrangement the rod is fed incontinuously, and is reduced and forged to the shape required byreducing-rolls and side dies acting consecutively and alternately ondiiferent'portions of the rod, as said different portions are, by theaction of the feed-rolls, continuously projected forward, substantiallyas described.

3. The hook-shaped knife n, arranged on a vibratory shaft in the samevertical plane as the reducing-rolls and fore plate, with mech anism tooperate said shaft, and thus cause the knife to descend and sever theblank from the rod while the former is pressed against the fore plate byone of the reducing-rolls, substantially as hereinbefore described.

In testimony whereof I, the said ABRAIVI REESE, have hereunto set myhand.

ABRAM REESE.

Witnesses:

ELL TORRANCE, Gr. H. GHRIsrY.

